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BMW Group has issued the following press release:
The BMW Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited today performed the Official Grand Opening Ceremony of their joint venture plant BMW Brilliance Automotive in Shenyang, the capital of the Liaoning Province in the North-East of the People’s Republic of China.
The BMW Group and its Chinese partner each hold a 50% share in the joint venture. A total of 450 million euros is to be invested by 2005. In the medium term, an annual production of around 30,000 BMW 3 Series and 5 Series vehicles is planned and the joint venture will employ approximately 3,000 staff.
Speaking at the event, Helmut Panke, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG said: “The joint venture is a milestone for the BMW Group. With the Shenyang plant, we are very well prepared to meet future challenges here in China. We want to dedicate our efforts to China for the long term. I am convinced that together we will make this joint venture a success that both partners will notably benefit from.”
Wu Xiao An, Chairman of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited said: “Our cooperation with BMW is a crucial step for Brilliance. It signals the success of both our strategic partnership and the global vision of our company. The opening of the Shenyang plant will speed up both parties to move into the vast potentials of the fastest growing automotive market while giving many more Chinese consumers the opportunity to enjoy the renowned quality of BMW products.” — BMW's joint venture agreement in China.
The event was witnessed by Governor Zhang Wenyue of Liaoning Province, Mayor Chen Zhenggao of Shenyang and senior executives from both parties.
BMW Group with strong presence in China
The BMW Group regards the joint venture as a fundamental step in its process of internationalisation. On the basis of its ongoing product and market initiative, the company is consistently strengthening its global presence and strategically opening up new markets, particularly among the rapidly growing markets in Asia. Over the next five years, the company is planning to increase its annual sales in the Asian markets from around 93,000 units in 2003 to 150,000 by 2008.
In order to continue its successful development in China, the BMW Group submitted a project proposal for a sino-foreign joint venture in December 2001, together with the partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings. The jointly prepared project proposal was approved in July 2002 by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. The approval of the following feasibility study was received from the National Development and Reform Commission on 14 March 2003.
On 27 March 2003, the joint venture contract was officially signed at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The business license was granted on 23 May 2003; on 1 July 2003, the joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive Co., Ltd. officially commenced operations. — BMW 5 Series range.
In Shenyang, the joint venture built up new production facilities in line with the worldwide high quality standards of BMW Group. The first BMW 3 Series came off the assembly line in September 2003.
The BMW Group has been present in China with a representative office in Beijing since 1994. During the subsequent years, the BMW Group gradually expanded the scope of its operations in China, successfully positioning itself as a leading supplier of premium automotive products.
Chinese markets among BMW Group’s Top Ten sales markets
BMW Group is continuing on a path of ongoing growth particularly in the Chinese markets. In the first four months of 2004, sales of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce automobiles were up by 41.4%, from 6,065 in the same period last year to 8,580 automobiles. — European premium automotive developments.
Deliveries to customers in the Chinese Mainland increased by 56.7% to 5,827 automobiles (up to April 2003: 3,719 automobiles). This figure includes 3,877 BMW 3 and 5 Series models produced locally by the joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive Co., Ltd. BMW Group’s total sales volume in Asia in the first four months of 2004 amounted to to 29,799 deliveries (previous year: 25,387), this corresponds to an increase of 17.4%.
In the 2003 financial year, the Chinese markets ranked for the first time among BMW Group’s Top Ten sales markets. With a 75 per cent sales increase to more than 27,000 automobiles (thereof more than 3,000 locally produced BMW 3 and 5 Series), these markets have moved up to the 8th place.
Global production and sales network further strengthened
With the joint venture in Shenyang included, BMW Group operates 24 production and assembly plants in 14 countries, including six in Asia (Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and China). The sales network of the BMW Group consists of 33 own sales subsidiaries and some 3,000 dealerships around the world. In the Chinese Mainland the present dealership network consists of 27 outlets. Smaller markets are currently served by more than 120 importers. The BMW Group is thus represented in over 150 countries on all five continents. No other premium manufacturer has recourse to such an internationally oriented network of production and sales.
